Tag: creamy

If you are one of the many parents who struggle to get their kids to eat their vegetables, you are going to love this recipe. If you are an adult who hates eating vegetables, you are going to love this recipe. If you love alfredo. you’re going to love this recipe. The sauce has the velvety texture and creamy flavor of alfredo, but contains just a tiny amount of cheese and is made of cauliflower. Instead of milk or heavy cream, you use the water you cooked the cauliflower in for a liquid so you’re still able to get some of those water-soluble nutrients from the cauliflower. You won’t even know you’re eating a vegetable! What’s even better is this is super quick and easy to make.

A quick note on the pasta. I always recommend whole wheat pastas over white pastas – it is far more nutritious than white and it’s also more filling. However, this sauce is made with water and whole wheat pasta tends to soak that up very quickly so you end up with a grainier textured sauce. I still don’t recommend white pasta. I would say go with a brown rice pasta or a whole wheat blend, like whole wheat and quinoa pasta. It will act less like a sponge while still not being an empty carb. I recommend using penne or ziti because it catches some of the sauce inside of it so you get even more flavor with each bite.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup water (from the cauliflower)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 box whole grain pasta, cooked

Equipment

Blender

Directions

Break up the cauliflower into florets. Place them in a large pot of water and boil until soft.

While the cauliflower is cooking, saute the chopped garlic cloves in the extra virgin olive oil for about a minute – just long enough to bloom the flavor. Scrape the garlic and oil into the blender.

Once the cauliflower is soft, add it to the blender with the salt, water from the pot, and parmesan. Blend until the sauce is smooth.

Add the sauce to the cooked pasta. Optional: top with a little more grated parmesan and cracked black pepper and enjoy!

Using a small head of cauliflower, I had some extra sauce leftover using one box of pasta. So. if you buy a larger head, you may be able to make enough sauce for two boxes of pasta.

If you want to take this one step further, add some grilled chicken and broccoli to it!

Cauliflower caraway soup is a healthy, crowd-pleasing appetizer…or main course! It is so creamy and has a really rich, decadent flavor from the caraway so it leaves you feeling really satisfied, the way a creamy chowder would. But, this recipe is completely dairy-free and vegan… oh, and it’s delicious, too.

It starts out with a basic mirepoix sautéing while you boil the cauliflower until it’s soft. I season the mirepoix with salt and pepper, garlic powder, coriander, and Bell’s turkey seasoning (the official spice of the Commonwealth of MA). Towards the end, I add a ton of caraway seeds to get them toasty and bring out the flavor.

When boiling the cauliflower, you want to use just enough water to cover it because that is what’s going to become your broth. It’s loaded with nutrients and cauliflower flavor so it’s really going to enhance your soup in more ways than one. Once the cauliflower is soft, remove the pot from the heat. Then, using a potato masher, carefully (so you don’t splash scalding water onto yourself – been there, not fun) mash the cauliflower right in the liquid.

Once you’ve gotten the cauliflower well-mashed by hand, add the mirepoix and blend with an immersion blender (you can do this in a regular blender or food processor as well). Blend until it takes on a creamy consistency.

I am a major proponent for tasting as you cook. So at this point, I say taste and if it doesn’t have enough caraway or salt, add more. And don’t be shy about the seasoning – it can take a lot to balance the cauliflower. You want the final product to taste almost like pumpernickel bread. I highly recommend putting it back on the heat for a while not only to keep it hot until it’s served but also to render the flavors even more.

This soup makes a great appetizer or can be a whole meal as well. Want to get fancy? Serve it with some pumpernickel croutons on top or garnish with some extra caraway seeds.

Ingredients:

2 heads cauliflower, cut into chunks

3-4 medium carrots, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1 large onion, diced

Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Bell’s turkey seasoning

Caraway seeds (as many as it takes)

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

2 Tsp Coriander

1 tbsp Garlic powder

2 Bay leaves

Instructions

Place the chunks of cauliflower into a large pot and fill with water until just covered. Place on high heat, add bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Salt the water and boil the cauliflower until it is soft. Remove from heat.

While the cauliflower is boiling, sauté the carrots, onions, and celery in about 1 tbsp olive oil until soft. This is your mirepoix. Season this with the coriander, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Add about 2 tbsp of caraway seeds and cook another minute so that the seeds get toasty.

Using a potato masher, carefully mash the cauliflower in the water. Add the mirepoix and blend using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy in texture.

Add the Bell’s seasoning and another tsbp of caraway seeds and blend some more. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Your soup should taste very similar to pumpernickel bread. Taste frequently and add seasoning as you need to.

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